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June 2017

06/16/2017

Succession and estate plans are needed in order to keep the farm in operation.

If a farmer wants the farm to keep operating after passing, a detailed plan is needed, according to the Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog in "I'd Bet the Farm on It!"

When some people think of "family farms", they think of small operations that can easily be handled by one or two people.

However, people who live in rural areas, especially farmers themselves, know that family farms are much bigger today than they are in the popular imagination.

Family farms can be gigantic operations with many employees. Farmers have to know how to navigate often complex government regulations, lending practices and supplier requirements, all while keeping an eye on volatile commodity prices.

The most important thing for farmers to do, is often the most difficult. That is figuring out who is going to inherit the farm and continue running it.

Not every family member will have the knowledge or desire to run a farm. Sometimes, it might even be necessary to make arrangements for someone else to operate the farm, after the owner passes away.

Once it is determined who will run the farm, figuring out how others in the family will receive a fair inheritance is necessary to avoid any family fights.

Since the bulk of most farmers' assets are tied up in their farms, this is where estate planning needs to come into play.

Our expert estate planning attorneys would be happy to advise you on planning for secession as well as fair inheritance decisions for a business operation, including farm land.

If the parents do not talk to their children about their wealth and likely inheritances, then the children might not be ready to receive the wealth and be incapable of properly managing it.

Wealthy parents need to work with estate planning attorneys to create a wealth transfer plan that works for their family’s unique circumstances. This gives parents something specific to talk to their children about.

The conversation with the children should occur, when the children are ready to receive the news without it changing their own goals in life.

When that time should be, will differ for every family. Most often, however, it will be when the children have already established their own careers and families.

The conversation does not need to happen all at once. Children can be told incrementally, as they are ready to receive more and more information.

Our expert estate planning attorneys would be happy to guide you in creating an estate plan that meets your unique circumstances.

Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam, the first African-American woman appointed to New York's highest court, was recently found dead when her body was found washed up on the bank of the Hudson River.

The exact cause of her death has not been determined.

Police believe it to have been suicide, but they have referred the matter to the medical examiner who has not yet made a determination.

Abdus-Salaam cut her husband out of her will. She left her entire estate to be divided between her mother and siblings. Cutting her husband out, however, was not the big mistake.

At the time of her death, she was married to her fourth husband.

The judge created her will in 2003, when she was in the process of divorcing her third husband and wanted to make sure he did not receive any portion of her estate.

Her mistake was not updating her will after getting remarried.

This could have been a big problem for her estate, since her husband is entitled to the estate under New York law. However, he has waived his claims to receive an inheritance from his wife, which will allow her mother and surviving siblings to receive the estate.

Our expert estate planning attorneys would be happy to advise you in creating a plan that fits your unique circumstances.

Fox News has faced a series of allegations of sexual harassment made against top rated host Bill O'Reilly and Ailes. O’Reilly recently left the company and Ailes resigned.

One lawsuit against Ailes and the network was filed by a former television host, Gretchen Carlson. That lawsuit was settled for $20 million.

Two more lawsuits that were filed against Ailes, are still pending. He always maintained his innocence and was expected to fight against the claims in court.

His estate, however, is likely to take a different stance.

Since Ailes is unable to defend himself and tell his side of the story, the estate does not have a good way to refute the claims in court. That could lead them to settle the lawsuits quickly, so they can distribute whatever is left of Ailes' estate to his heirs.

Neither movie has been authorized by Michael Jackson's estate. That means the filmmakers do not have permission to use Jackson's image, likeness or his music.

The estate is expected to watch the films carefully, to see if they contain any unauthorized content. If they do, a lawsuit is expected.

It is not certain why the networks did not get permission to use Jackson's music. It is likely the result of the estate wanting too much money and the networks not wanting to give editorial control to the estate over the contents of the films.

06/09/2017

Genetic testing is not expensive and can help in decisions on the need for insurance.

A person’s decision on whether to pay for long-term health insurance can be influenced by tests that determine the likelihood of the necessity of the need for it, according to The New York Times in "New Gene Tests Pose a Threat to Insurers."

Because the long-term care insurance model is based on other similar forms of insurance, some people who will not need long-term care, pay premiums which fund the care of those who need the insurance.

However, that model is threatened by genetic testing that can tell a person if it is likely they will need the insurance.

It is a reliable business model because people do not know whether they will be the ones who need to draw more money out of the insurance pool.

This leads them to hedge their bets and purchase insurance.

Inexpensive genetic tests are now available that will give people a better idea whether they are likely to develop Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

Both diseases are likely to lead to the need for long-term care.

People who know they have a greater risk of contracting the diseases, would be more likely to buy long-term care insurance than others.

Insurers can now ask people about their risks for the diseases. However, people are not under any obligation to tell insurers the truth and the results of the tests are not available for insurers.

The story begins nearly three decades ago, when a four-year-old boy was erroneously placed on the U.S. government’s "Master Death File" list of the deceased. When government agencies learn of someone's death, they record the information in the file to make sure that any payments, such as Social Security, do not continue to be paid.

It is not a perfect system as Adam Ronning can attest to, because for 29 years, he was unsuccessful in getting the IRS to recognize that he was, in fact, alive. However, through the intervention of Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobucher, he has now legally been brought back to life.

Every year approximately 9,000 people are wrongly added to the master death file, which is a tiny percentage of people in a nation with over 300 million citizens. Most names erroneously placed on the list are the result of clerical errors, not any malicious intent.

However, despite the small numbers of people who are affected, it is still a big enough problem that more care should be taken to avoid these errors.

It is important to correct the list as soon as possible, if you are erroneously placed on the list because signing up for your retirement benefits may end up being a problem.

While the divorce rate for younger people has been declining in recent years, the divorce rate for older age groups over the age of 50 is increasing.

There have been several theories about what is behind the rise in divorce for people over 50, often called "Gray Divorces." One of the most common theories is that these divorces are the result of marriages that have been rocky for years and the couple chose to stay married, until their children were out of the home.

The research found that children leaving the home did not seem to be a factor in the increase in gray divorces. Instead, divorce was deemed more likely in couples of lesser means and for couples who were not on their first marriage.

The quality of an individual marriage was also a factor. For example, how well the couple enjoyed their free time together, plays a role in whether they get divorced.

Figuring out why older people are getting divorced at a more frequent rate is important for public policy.

Single elderly people have higher rates of poverty than their married peers. They also have more difficulty finding a support network for needed care.

Canavero had previously discussed his plans to perform the first human head transplant sometime next year. He plans to take a live person's head and transplant it entirely onto a deceased donor's body.

His new claim is that by the year 2020, he will be able to take a frozen brain and transplant it into a deceased donor's body. Most researchers, however, believe that the process of freezing delicate brain tissue will damage it so much that it can never be restored.

Even if you believe that someday humans might be able to live eternally, you should be cautious about any claims that this will be the case in the near future. For now, you should still accept the fact that you will some day pass away.

Cryogenics may be a successful procedure in the future. However, for now our expert estate planning attorneys would be happy to guide you in creating an estate plan that meets your unique circumstances.

06/05/2017

The political system is going through major changes and it is difficult to know exactly what is going on.

There are many revelations arising these days in the federal political arena as President Donald Trump deals with his agenda, fake news reports, Republicans and the Democrat party still reeling from a stunning defeat.

This most certainly has had a major impact on the financial strength of the U.S. as well as the necessity of continuing estate planning, but that can be done by remaining flexible, according to the Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog in "Estate Planning Strategies for Uncertain Tax Reform."

This all makes estate planning more difficult.

Without knowing what the tax laws might look like in the future, it is almost impossible to make appropriate plans for such taxes.

However, estate planning is still necessary in uncertain times.

By maintaining flexibility with your estate planning, you can more easily change plans when the political situation becomes less chaotic.

Our expert estate planning attorneys would be happy to guide you in creating an estate plan that fits your unique circumstances.